The Two Paths
by Xemik665
Summary: Broken bonds and lost souls, haunting us forever. Only in each other can we shake off regret and move on. I will come back for you.
1. The experimenter and the experimented

Author's note: If you're wondering why this came out just after my previous story, it's because I wanted to release that first. Okay, much editing was done with this one. The word length was drastically cut by half. This is the final result, but it's good enough for me, I guess. Okay, I'm aching to see how this one turns out.

* * *

_The boy's hair was light brown. His eyes were small but sharp, like an eagle's. He yelled as he slashed at the stump with all his might. It split into two and fell onto the floor, the pieces slowly fading. Without notice, a bright light surrounded him and a blast of energy shot through him. He had leveled up! He was going to tell everyone about his achievement… especially his mother. She would be so proud._

_He could finally be like her. His mother wanted him to be at least level thirteen before he got his job, so he would be ahead of the rest, even if it was just by a few levels. He had finally made the cut. He couldn't wait to see her expression. He had to get home. _

_He was running, and the wind caressed his hair. He was reaching the hunting grounds. It was deserted, for some strange reason. He almost made it to the gates, but found himself blocked by two huge men. They whispered among themselves, but he heard the phrase "take him". Then, the bigger of the two clenched his fist and smashed his head. The boy's vision darkened, and then he was out cold._

* * *

Zeirona woke up from his dream in cold sweat. It was the only memory he had of his past, and he had begun dreaming about it only recently. He wiped away his sweat as he turned to see the guard's looming face, with a huge scar on his left check that never ceased to disgust him.

The vituperative guard was assigned to watch him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid, although Zeirona was rarely in his prison cell. Most of the time, he would be experimented with in a lab and he would be drugged every time they decided to bring him there. They probably just wanted to keep it a secret.

The night before, he remembered hearing the scientists loud and clear. Apparently, they had finally succeeded in whatever they were doing. He would be their prized possession. They would probably start dissecting him or something. He knew it was coming, because had been very relaxed for the past few months. They had been rushing things before that.

"You look so pathetic." The guard began his usual taunting.

"Isn't your job just to watch me? Why don't you just shut the hell up?" Zeirona cut in.

No reply. He was probably not used to being answered back at. Or maybe he was trying to keep his cool.

"You're too dumb to get the meaning of what I said?"

The guard continued to ignore him.

"Stop acting like a shit. Maybe if you lick my toes, I won't tell you how big your ass looks from here."

The guard's temples throbbed, his veins bulging out.

"No wonder no one wants you. Gosh, I don't even think I would want you."

The guard gritted his teeth and balled up his fists.

"Shitbag, was your mother as ugly as you? Or maybe it was your dad?"

"You son of a…"

The guard put his eye on the scanner and unlocked the door, before aiming his gun at him. Zeirona smiled. It was all going according to plan. He had anticipated the first bullet and dodged it with ease. Then, using all his energy, he punched the guard in the gut. The guard stumbled back and cringed as he slammed against the brick wall. Zeirona charged at him at kneed him where it hurt most. He let out a cry and fell to his knees. He elbowed him in the face, knocking him out completely.

Zeirona walked over to him, picked up his gun. He shifted his aim to the guard's leg and shot it. Zeirona frowned as blood sprayed out of his leg. The next part was the hardest. He slid the gun in his pocket, figuring it might be of use later.

He took to his heels and made his way through the winding hallway. He had been observing the routes the guard took. In fact, he had kept the drug underneath his tongue and pretended to black out most of the time. He had been observing and planning, for the last few months. He ran along the walls, staying out of the security cameras' sight, and then skidded to a halt as he found the prison cell with the code _DCR-15 _at the top of the wall.

He caught sight of a huge guard standing at the wall, napping. Zeirona took out a small container he had snatched from the lab and unscrewed off the cap. He took out a pill, one of the many he had spat back out into the container when his guard was napping. He crammed the pill into the guard's mouth, and after ten seconds, he crumpled onto the ground. Zeirona then proceeded to drag the guard to the scanner and put his eye on it.

"Who's there?" Two gleaming eyes could be seen in the darkness. A tiny hand reached out and grabbed Zeirona's. A small figure slowly emerged from the darkness. A boy around the age of nine, he had shaggy blonde hair hanging down on his face like a mop. His eyes were light shade of brown, and they complimented his blonde hair. Zeirona grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

"Don't worry, I'm not a guard! What's your name?"

"I'm Nera…"

"We're breaking out of here, Nera!" He reversed, heading back to his cell, and then passing it. Cold beads of sweat trickled down his forehead onto his eyelids. He blinked and wiped them away. Avoiding the cameras was more irritating than he had expected.

Zeirona was still tired from the previous experiment; it had sapped away all his strength. His pace slowed down. _Damn this… I can't take it much longer! _He was bound to get caught if he kept going at this pace. He noticed one of the cameras turned to face him.

"Shit!" He starting running now, not caring about the cameras anymore. He had already been spotted. He turned into another corner and swore.

It was one of the higher ranked guards. That meant big trouble. He pulled his gun out of the holster and began firing. Zeirona did the same. The man quickly took out a walkie-talkie and shouted some commands in it. He was trying to reach the cell guards… heck, all the other guards. Maybe even his boss.

Zeirona struggled, trying to take aim at the guard. The guard was still firing, and this made it very difficult. He scowled and shot at random while desperately trying to dodge the bullets.

Out of luck, the first few bullets missed him. Zeirona couldn't have that much luck for long though. The bullets continued flying towards him, and Zeirona barely missed them by inches. Another bullet headed for him. He didn't dodge it, or rather, he couldn't. The bullet slammed into his chest, leaving him staggering back. Zeirona fought against himself to keep his consciousness, although the pain was killing him.

"Shit! I don't have… time to get the others… out!" Zeirona slammed into the guard, knocking him off his feet. Zeirona ignored the pain, and turned to head for the exit. He got there and found another guard… a humongous one. Zeirona groaned. He was going to have to defeat this one if he wanted to get out. He also needed this guard's eyes for the scanner behind him to unlock the door.

"Hey, stand back…" Zeirona instructed weakly, and the boy obediently stood in the corner. The guard roared and dashed towards him. He didn't know how the hell he was going to win the fight; he was losing blood fast. He just had to push himself. He dodged and wrenched the gun out of his hand. The guard grabbed his arm and twisted it, and he screamed in pain.

Zeirona used the gun and swung it at his head with his other arm, knocking him back. He tried aiming it while the guard clutched his head and yelled in pain, but the bullet wound wasn't easy to ignore. He was still losing blood, and his arms were shaking. He closed his eyes and hoped to get a lucky shot. He pressed the trigger and fired.

He opened his eyes and gasped as he saw the guard fall to the floor. He was really lucky. He dragged the guard to the scanner and opened the door. Then, before he left, he smashed the scanner with the gun in his hand, then quickly dashed out with Nera as the doors closed. That would probably keep the out for a while.

He clutched his chest in pain with his other hand as he slowed down to a walking pace. He struggled as he forced himself to move, using every last reserve of his energy. He didn't know how the hell he made it through the guards with a bullet in his chest. His shirt was stained with blood, and not the dry kind. There was a deep gash on his forehead and blood was flowing out from it.

_I'll be back for you guys… _Zeirona promised. He couldn't focus very well on his surroundings as his vision was getting blurred. He blinked a few times and fell onto the floor. He had covered quite a distance, but he couldn't be too sure. He had reached his limit. Unable to drag himself any further, he let his pain and tiredness overcome him. He collapsed on the ground.

The last thing he saw was the small boy running ahead frantically. If he was trying to escape, he couldn't blame him at all. He would have done the same.

* * *

Zeirona forced his eyes open and tried to get up. He rubbed his eyes and adjusted to the lighting. He was in a room and he was lying on a bed. The room was well decorated, with fancy furnishings. Beside the room was a small kitchen. He guessed that the house was small enough to fit only two rooms. The kitchen was built in the room beside his, so it was tiny, probably big enough to fit only three people. A raven haired girl stood in the kitchen, preparing some food.

"Where the hell am I?" Zeirona mumbled softly.

"You're in Ellinia. You were badly injured, but I cleaned most of your wounds. You were losing a lot of blood from that bullet injury. Even so, you're almost fully recovered."

"Already? How long have I been out?"

"Hmm… about three days."

"What?" Zeirona's jaw dropped. Then he remembered something. "Wait… did you see a small boy with blonde hair and brown eyes? Please tell me he's alright!"

"I brought him back here too. He didn't sleep as much as you. He's taking a shower, I think. He brought me to you, you know?"

"He did?" He had given the boy less credit than he had deserved. He slowly pulled himself out of the bed and got up. He wasn't wearing a shirt on, and he had bandages on his chest, his forehead and his arm.

"Hey, I can't go out like this." He muttered.

The girl turned off the gas, took out the pan and poured the contents into a small bowl. She slowly walked over, being careful not to spill the contents. She put it on the end table beside him.

"Eat this first. You can go out when you regain your strength."

"Why did you help me?" Zeirona eyed her suspiciously.

The girl laughed.

"Actually, I find that it's my job as a Cleric to help people. What happened to you anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But… what's your name?" Zeirona asked curiously, while ravenously devouring the food beside him, not caring what it was. He was starving. Then, he looked into the bowl in surprise, realizing that he had finished the food.

"My name's Leah. What's yours?"

"Zeirona…" He paused as he caught sight of the same boy walking out of the bathroom with a towel hung around his neck.

"Hey, thanks for the help, but we'll have get going now." Zeirona found his shirt hanging from the end table, and to his surprise, it had been washed and it looked anything but bloody. He slipped it on and walked up to the front door. He motioned for Nera to follow him.

"Hey! You need more rest… you can't travel in your present state. You don't even have a weapon!" Zeirona blinked.

"Uh… I want to become a magician." He blurted out. It was sort of true. Even though he didn't know much of his past, there was always an urge for him to do so.

"You want to become… a magician?" She murmured, although there was a slight tone of excitement hidden somewhere in that message. "What level are you?"

"If I'm not mistaken, I should be level thirteen."

"Good… I can even help with your training, you know…" Then she stared at Zeirona, trying to make sense of something bothering her. "How old are you?"

"I… I don't really remember." _But what I do remember is that I had just turned twelve when they got me. _Leah stared at him, her eyes affixed on him.

"You don't… know?" Leah burst out laughing. "What?"

"I'm not joking, Leah. I don't know. I never got a chance to get a job. I wanted to get one when I was twelve, but…" His voice trailed off. Then he realized he needed to ask himself a question. _Why the hell am I hiding the fact that I'm an experiment? _He shook his head. _I just need to know who I can trust…_

"But what? Did something happen?"

"I… shouldn't talk about it… sorry." Zeirona replied hesitantly.

"Sorry! Look, let's just get going. Forget about the whole thing. I don't really want to know, anyway."

Zeirona nodded.

"What are you waiting for?" Nera cut in, breaking the silence.

"Alright. Let's go." It was time to see the world he had not seen for a very long time. He was ready. He stepped out of the door, and he saw something that took his breath away.

"Wow. So this is what Ellinia looks like." Zeirona had probably seen Ellinia before, but he was contained for so long that all he ever thought about was pain, torture and death. He didn't know if that was the reason why he had forgotten everything before that point of time, or whether it was something else.

"This is my hometown. You like it?"

"It's simply breathtaking."

"Go all the way to the top if you want to become a magician… There's a house there. Inside, is Grendel the Really Old, the magician instructor."

Zeirona looked up and gasped as he saw the amazing height of the big tree, Ellinia.

"Hell… I have to get up… there?" Zeirona shook his head. _Well, I guess I have to try…_

He found a small rope ladder hanging from the edge, and then he took hold of it and began climbing. Nera was just below him, followed by Leah.

Finally, they reached the top, and with ease. Leah was going on about how easy the climb actually was, and Nera was nodding cheerfully in agreement. Zeirona ignored them, and stared at the huge house that was in front of him. It towered above him, and it seemed to be giving out a radiant glow. Zeirona could sense the presence of life in it, and it was overwhelming. Without hesitation, he opened the door, and walked in.

There, was Grendel and the power he was emitting was intense, but nowhere as horrifying as Leah had made it out to be during their travelling.

"You want to gain the powers of a magician?"

Zeirona nodded confidently.

"Are you sure? Once you become a magician, you cannot change your mind." Grendel boomed.

"Yes, I am certain."

"I have to check your level… ah… you are able to become one. Come forward." He beckoned.

Zeirona took three steps forward.

"Gift of the magician!" Grendel slowly pointed his staff at him, and a beam of blinding light shot out from it. Zeirona felt a huge mass of energy shoot through his body. He felt himself growing stronger, getting more knowledgeable… the gift of the magician. Then, it was already over.

"It is done. You are now a magician. You'll need this." Grendel muttered another spell under his breath and burst of light appeared in front of Zeirona, and he jumped back in surprise as a small book, the size of his palm, appeared in the air and dropped into his hands. He flipped through the first few pages, browsing through the list of spells.

"Wow. Thank you so much." Zeirona had finally become a magician. He felt a great sense of accomplishment. Now he had to train and master all his skills, like every other magician would need to.

He squinted as he tried to make out the tiny words in the book. He couldn't wait to get stronger. He dashed out of the door and met up with his two companions.

"You got the job?" Leah asked.

"Hell yeah. Now I just need to train. You're gonna help me, right?" Zeirona remembered her promise. She nodded. She had officially become his teacher. But he still had one more choice to make. He still had one more visit to make. But it would wait, he decided. He would train up to a higher level before getting his second job.

He still remembered exactly what he had overheard during his last night in the prison.

"_Finally, after all these years, the hybrid project is a success! We have made a human who is capable of containing twice as much mana as a normal human! In theory, getting two jobs will be possible! The borders between jobs have finally been broken!" _Good for them. It had probably meant fame and fortune. For him, it had meant death or something even worse.

He still had one more job to select, and he already had one in mind.


	2. Moonlight Assassin

"_Magic… claw!" Zeirona swung his staff forward as a pair of bright, blue claw shaped energy claws cut the side of a horned mushroom. He had only managed to make a small cut on it, and it didn't seem to be the least affected by it._

"_Focus! Concentrate all your energy into one claw!" Leah instructed. Her hands were on her hips and she was frowning. He figured she was irritated. He would have been too, if he was instructing someone who had been trying to master the same skill for a month. The magic claw was so much harder to master than the energy bolts. He was perspiring profusely, and his hands were numbed due to releasing huge amounts of mana through them and into the staff. _

_He spread his feet apart and swung the staff once more. A blinding light was produced, and then the horned mushroom was cut into two, the upper body sliding off the ground. It slowly faded away, groaning. He had finally done it! He smiled triumphantly as he picked up the gleaming coins. _

"_Hey, you finally managed to control your mana… try to do it again." Leah ordered. _

_Zeirona sighed. He had just managed to get a hold of it after such a long time. _Well, might as well get this over with_, He thought gingerly as he gripped his staff and stumbled towards the next nearest dark axe stump. _

"_Magic claw!" The same bright light appeared as it struck the horned mushroom. Zeirona groaned as he saw that it was merely cut. This was harder than he thought. He had seen other magicians do it with such ease. They must have had a hard time mastering the skill, like him. _

_They had been training for almost a month now, and he had been progressing fine. Until he tried to master the magic claw, that was._

"_Look, can we just skip the magic claw and go straight to some more powerful skills?" He muttered impatiently. He was already beginning to doubt the skill._

"_No way! You have to master the basic skills before you get to the…" She was cut off by Zeirona._

"_Yeah, before I get to the advanced stuff and whatnot. I get it." He sighed. If mastering one skill was so hard, it was really hard to think of how hard mastering the advanced skills would be. He shuddered and began to strike the monster again. _

_That was two months ago._

_The dreadful training had come to an end, and he had become a level twenty magician. It had all passed seemingly quickly. _

Zeirona dragged himself out of bed and out the house. Was it Monday already? A whole pointless week that could have been used for training, and yet he had been lying in bed napping? His training was to resume in two more weeks, but he could barely wait.

He walked along his usual route, passing by a row of houses. The same, boring route.

"Hey, you really need a job soon! If you wait until you get to a high level, the other kids will laugh at you!"

"Mum! Stop that! I can make my own decisions!"

Zeirona walked by his neighbor and her son. The son blushed when he noticed Zeirona there, while the mother smiled and waved.

_Right… If my level is too high, it would be weird_, he thought to himself. He really needed something to do anyway.

He arrived at the Ellinia field and found Leah supervising Nera with his archery training. The field was as green as green could possibly have been, and it was accompanied by a slight breeze. The whole place was shaded with trees, making it comfortable and convenient for training.

"I'm leaving for awhile." He broke the silence.

"Where are you heading?" She asked, her eyes still fixed on Nera.

"I'm heading to Perion. Don't look for me there. I'll be fine on my own." He answered.

"Well, go ahead. It's your break, isn't it?" She answered. She wasn't even listening!

Zeirona waved and headed over to a cab before counting his money. He took out a few notes and got into the cab, telling the driver exactly where he was headed. With a nod, he started the engine and took off. He figured getting there on a cab seemed fit after all his training.

* * *

"Perion…" He mumbled as he took a step out of the cab. The place was horribly warm, with the scorching sun right above him. To make matters worse, the stone floor seemed to be radiating with heat. He walked over to a few strangers and asked for directions to the job instructor. Apparently, the job instructor, known as Dances with Balrog, was right at the top of the town, something he found oddly familiar.

He found a hidden spot where nobody was, and slipped into some beginner clothes. Then, he kept his robes and headed to the Shrine of Warriors.

He arrived at the entrance of the Shrine of Warriors not long after. He opened the doors and entered slowly. A lone man sat at cross-legged at the top of the small stairway, his eyes shut tight.

"Excuse me. I'm here to become a warrior." Zeirona's gaze shifted round the room uneasily. The room seemed well-decorated, with treasures spread out on the floor, as if welcoming thieves to them. Magnificent pillars stood erect by his sides, carved with ancient writings.

"Yes, please come over here for a second. There's something about you I can't put my finger on." He said.

_Maybe it's because I already _have_ a job_, Zeirona thought as he dragged himself closer. The Perion chief frowned, his eyes still closed, concentrating hard on something.

"You're a magician." He came to a conclusion, sounding oddly confident about it.

"N…No! That's not it. There's got to be something wrong with that. Just give it a try…" He stuttered, losing his nerve.

"Alright, then, we'll give it a shot." He picked up the sword that was lying next to him and unsheathed it. He got up to his feet and opened his eyes. He distanced himself, and brought down his sword. "Gift of the warrior!" The sword's blade became a blinding light and sliced through him harmlessly. Energy rushed through his body and he felt himself getting stronger.

Suddenly, without warning, he felt pain. The energy flow had been reversed. He clutched his chest tightly as waves of pain starting coursing through his body. His surroundings spun out of control. His vision doubled. He bit his lip hard, tearing off some skin. Maybe he was really just an experiment gone wrong. The pain kept coming, leaving him struggling helplessly.

* * *

Nera gripped his bow in anger as he fired more arrows rapidly. He had been trying to master arrow blow for such a long time, yet his attempts had been nothing but futile. He gritted his teeth and fired again. The arrows began to light up with a red glow, then the glow faded and they fell onto the ground uselessly. This had been the case for a long time.

It was already evening, and even Leah had returned to the house. He had promised himself that he would only go home if he mastered the skill, but it was only then that he realized it was impossible for him to do so in such short notice.

"What's a young archer like you doing in Ellinia?" It was obvious from his voice that it was a male.

He turned to see a tall person with a hood over his head, with messy, raven black hair coming out from the side of it, in a green leather hoodwear standing behind him. His hood covered most of his face, but his skin was unnaturally pale.

"That's not the way you use arrow blow. Let me demonstrate it for you." He suddenly changed the subject.

The stranger held out his bow and aimed at a mushroom. It was one of those super-rare maple bows he had heard about. It was carved to the tiniest detail, painted with a wide range of matching colors. He never actually seen one before, but the rumors about it were certainly true.

He pulled back the arrow and let go without even blinking. "Arrow blow!" He muttered, as the arrow lit up with red flame instantaneously and buried itself in the mushroom. It groaned and collapsed before fading away. Nera stared in awe at the mastery of the skill. It had seemed so smooth, so natural, so… easy. Nera had observed the arrow carefully and was taking mental notes of the few things it had that his didn't.

The flames were controlled, only moving in a single direction, and it hadn't been the slightest bit affected by the wind at all. It had sliced through the air like a thin knife. It was too precise. That was more than enough to show his prowess in archery.

"You have to transfer your mana into the arrow and release it just before it hits the target." He instructed.

Nera nodded and aimed at another mushroom. He was determined to get this one right. He narrowed his eyes and let go of the arrow. "Arrow Blow!" He yelled. He accidentally released his hold on the mana just after he released the arrow. The arrow lit up in a tiny red glow, but it faded and the arrow fell to the ground again. He swung out his fist in anger. At the rate he was going, a normal shot would have been better than him actually using the skill at all.

"There was some improvement. Do it again. Try to release it only just before it hits." The stranger said, his voice firm.

Nera gritted his teeth and clutched his bow tightly as he brought it up and aimed. Forcing his mana out of him, he pulled the arrow as far back as he could, and released it. "This had better work… Arrow blow!" The arrow lit up again, but in flames. The arrow flew at amazing speed and went right through the mushroom, leaving a hole in it. The mushroom lit up in flames and faded.

"I… I did it!" Nera cried in amazement.

"You did great… but…" The stranger paused.

"But what?" He demanded.

"The arrow was out of control… I've never seen anything like this before." He turned to look at the arrow he had shot. Everything that came close to the arrow had been burned beyond recognition.

* * *

The darkness was slowly inching its way across Zeirona's vision, and he wondered if it was time for him to leave. He forced his eyes open, but it was just so hard to even try. He was sure his heart had skipped a few beats. He fists were clenched, but he hands could no longer feel anything.

Then he thought he heard a countdown. No, it was definitely there, but it was in his head. It wasn't a voice, but a very strong feeling. It started with a ten, then slowly went down. After what seemed like an eternity, it hit zero.

Then, it was over in an instant. The pain had just gone… like it had never been there at all. He didn't even feel the slightest bit tired anymore. In fact, he had gotten stronger, or at least, he felt like it.

"Are you… alright?" Dances with Balrog was by his side, staring at him with a strange expression, unable to figure out what had just happened. Zeirona took deep breaths, not believing that it had just disappeared like that.

"I… I'm fine now. I have no idea what just happened, but I'm fine." Zeirona stammered. He blinked in surprise as he found no traces of any injuries or scars. _It could have been the side effects… of trying to get another job. By right, nobody should be able to do it. I guess that's the price I had to pay to get a step ahead of the others. _He thought to himself. _On the bright side, now I have an alarm clock installed in me. Good for me._

"You're a… warrior now." He said, sounding a little choked. He had probably had the shock of his life. Zeirona, still in disbelief, tried moving his arms and legs to check if everything was actually fine. "I guess I was wrong about you being a magician, huh? I've never been wrong about these things before… Well, you're going to need this." He picked up a small book from the floor and tossed it to him. The warrior's skill book, easily recognizable by the patterns on the cover, was now in his hands.

"Thank you!" He crammed the book in his pocket and walked out of the shrine. He had the powers of a warrior now. He was aching to try out his new skills.

He had to ask more people for directions as he made his way to the weapon shop. As he passed by houses and more shops, He realized that the whole place was exactly the same. Rocks, tents, the occasional salesman, and more rocks.

After five ladders and eight flights of stairs, he found the store.

"God, this is one hell of a mess." He thought out loud as he made his way in. It was strewn with opened boxes lying all over the floor. There were even knives and swords sticking out of them. _Talk about messy._

He jumped over the boxes to the weapons shelf. He impulsively chose the only two-handed sword in the shop. It was only until he looked closer that he saw the sword was scratched and cut at some parts. Someone had attempted to patch it up to hide the scars, but they were glaringly obvious once spotted.

"So, you think you can handle it now, do you?" The shopkeeper startled him from behind. He had been under the counter, so he hadn't noticed him. Zeirona rolled his eyes.

"Can _you _use it better, then?" He muttered under his breath. The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow.

"Try using it."

"Gladly." He took the sword off the shelf and tried to raise it up. Only to see it drop right down. He frowned. The sword weighed a ton… no, heavier. He struggled to move it, but it didn't even budge. After trying with repeated failures, he gave up in exhaustion.

"What the hell is this thing made of?" He finally choked out. The shopkeeper snatched the sword off the ground with one hand, holding it up as if it were no heavier than any other sword.

"You lack strength, yet you choose to become a warrior. Why the hell did you become one, anyway?" The shopkeeper shook his head.

"Why the heck are you even asking me? Aren't you just a shopkeeper?" Zeirona retorted instantly. Damn shopkeeper. It was almost as if he _didn't_ want customers.

"Wait, follow me outside." He said, already heading out the shop with two swords in his hand. Zeirona just shrugged and followed him out.

"Okay, now we have some space. Come at me from any direction… You'll see what this sword can do." The shopkeeper threw him the second sword he was holding. It was thin, without a hilt. Then, he beckoned for him to attack.

Zeirona tightened his grip on the sword and readied himself. Then, without hesitation, he dashed to the shopkeeper's back and slashed. The shopkeeper seemed to fade for a second, and then disappeared. His puzzled look was replaced with widened eyes as he realized the shopkeeper was right behind him. He tried to defend himself, but he was a second too late. The blade knocked his weapon aside like a plaything.

"Shit!" He cried out loud. Instinctively, he teleported behind the shopkeeper just before he brought his sword down on him. Which wasn't exactly a great idea.

"You……!"

* * *

"You can't do that again?" The stranger asked for the umpteenth time. No, umpteenth wasn't even the word for it.

"No… I really can't…" He sighed.

"Try to remember what you _felt_ when releasing the arrow." The stranger instructed.

"Well, I felt as if I was… connected to the arrow. Like it was draining mana from me, but I couldn't stop the mana from flowing out…" He said, raising his hands up to emphasize on what he had said.

The stranger thought about it for a second, before muttering out an "impossible". Then, he turned and looked at Nera.

"I'm sure you didn't release your mana at all… It must have been draining your mana without stopping until it hit the target. If that energy was all your mana, you would have been drained completely by now. No, worse, you would have used up all your mana, _and_ your life energy. Not many archers below level thirty have that much mana, and even if they did, would never have been able to force more than a third of all their mana all at one go. And… you're not even _tired_?"

"Uh… no?" He blurted out with a puzzled look on his face. That didn't even make him the least bit weary.

"No, there has to be some other explanation…" He went on.

Nera looked up and realized the moon was already out. He hadn't even noticed that it was night already. Time had really passed by fast. Time.

"Oh, damn! I'd better get going now. I'm… sort of past my curfew, if you know what I mean." Nera cut in. "If I don't get back now…" He shuddered at what he had pictured. "Well, thanks, anyway, mister… what did you say your name was?"

"I don't think I'm obliged to tell you my name…" Without another word, he left. Before long, He had completely disappeared from Nera's sight. Now the field was completely empty, and even the monsters seemed to be missing. The silence was screaming into his ears.

Nera shrugged to himself. The stranger didn't even bother to show his face. Well, he _did_ help him to master arrow blow… the arrow blow that he hadn't come close to mastering in the past month. He looked at the huge clock tower in the distance. Moonlight shined on it, and it reflected light back to the park. It was already an hour before midnight.

"Oh god, I'm dead now! It's an hour before midnight already?" He snatched his bow and ran for the entrance to Ellinia. As he neared the entrance, he caught sight of a figure. He could barely make out any features at all in the darkness of the night, but the person had a sword with him. After focusing on the figure, he realized it was running. It was coming in his direction.

"Might you be _DCR-15?_" The voice startled him. The dark figure he had just seen was now right behind him grinning, and his sword, gleaming in the moonlight, was under his throat.

* * *

**Note: I tried to improve on this one (Thanks, Sobriquet Nightmare), but I'm still not sure about the quality. Also, I never planned on letting Zeirona make his two jobs an obvious thing. It was always supposed to be a secret (duh), but thanks for the advice as well. Sorry for taking so long to write. Let's just say I got lost in my own world of anime again (Always happens). Feedback is always welcome, so please point out the flaws or good points of the story. Also, please review, it will probably speed my writing up! **


	3. Game

The sky hung low that day, a keen eye paying particular attention to the occupants of the earth beneath it. Just as well, there were two particularly interesting characters wandering the roads of a minute corner of the world. It crept closer to the ground, as if trying to get closer to them to touch their insignificant lives, to feel the joys of material existence.

Gared walked down the twisting route, the silence of the night screaming in his ears. He could take it no longer. What he needed and longed for _were_ screams, but those of innocent people, pleading and begging for their worthless lives, only to be crushed by he himself. Yes, it was way too quiet during the night.

Walking beside him was Miste. He was a trained assassin, any traces of his past life completely washed away by the waves of thoughts about carrying out his missions. Even then, he was moving so silently that not a sound could be heard from the graceful feet that floated atop the light breeze. It was hard not to forget he was beside him.

A small snail had found its way in front of their path, misguiding eyes drawing it closer. It was in the worst place it could possibly have been in. It looked up as two shadows climbed up the grass, shading the patch of grass it was on. It felt danger, fear and tension shooting up as instincts cried out to its paralyzed form. It squirmed, but roots had already sunk too deep in the ground and refused to give way. Gared grinned as he brought out his gun out slowly. It was small and compact, with a simple design. Not much thought had been put into buying his gun. Nonetheless, his skill easily made up for the poor choice of guns.

Without pausing or stopping to aim, he carelessly flicked his finger forward lightly. Pressure exploded out and knocked the gun back, spinning wildly around the joints of his finger as he released his grip on the handle. A small shell had flown up. The blood followed not long after. He smiled; the very same smile he always had when he fulfilled that small part of his purpose. It was no challenge, but it was still fulfilling.

Chuckling to himself, he continued walking forward, eyes darting around. If he was lucky, there would be more prey.

Some had accused him of horrible sins. Some had sworn revenge. Others simply ran away in cold fear, calling him twisted. Of course, none of that bothered him any more than the things he had done. It was just a simple game that he wanted to play, after all. Nobody had any right to deny him of some fun.

"Look, it's him. The one we've been looking for." Miste said, expressing no emotion. Of course, one could never be more careful. The importance of that rule was only multiplied and drilled into the heads of assassins.

"Aah, the one we spent weeks looking for. We've passed by more than six small towns already, haven't we? Finally, after that dreadful search. The boy better put up a good fight, or he would not have been worth the time." Gared laughed to himself. If he was lucky, the boy would be strong. That would be much better than simply waiting there to get killed. Either way though, the killing alone would satisfy him.

"I trust that you aren't getting any funny ideas. We instructed to bring him back, not to kill him." Miste suddenly spoke again. His voice was muffled, his eyes being the only thing that wasn't hiding behind a thin layer of black cloth. It prevented anyone from hearing his true voice, so even Gared did not know what he really sounded like, nor looked like. Did the lack of a face help to wash away guilt and conscience? He just felt that it was a pathetic excuse to kill, the temporary cleansing of his sins.

Without waiting, he took a step forward and the light began to flicker around him, his shape blurring out of sight. He traced the path with amazing speed and scattered sparks along as he reappeared behind the target almost instantly.

"Any funny movements before I tell you to move and I'll slit your throat right off." Miste ordered, his dagger fitting neatly under the target's throat. The moonlight reflected off his dagger, circling around its jagged curves, the spiked edge and pouring into the small, intricate carvings it bore on the left, giving it a slightly unique, mesmerizing glow. Miste referred to it as a dagger, but Gared was always wondering why it was so long. It was too long to be a dagger, yet too short to be a sword. The odd design always left Gared curious, implanting a seed of curiosity to take more than occasional glances at the weapon. He rarely got any chances, since the lives of his targets were usually ended with the mere flick of a wrist.

Gared sighed as he realized he was never going to get his kill. However, he knew he had a chance. If he could only get the boy to struggle and break lose…

The boy seemed stiff with fear. From behind, he saw the boy trembling, beads of perspiration running down the back of his neck, knocking down the hairs that stood straight up. It really _was_ just another weakling.

"Remember, if he moves, he's my prey." He reminded Miste. He was sure he spotted a nod, but the darkness played many tricks on his eyes.

He noticed the boy tense up, and he giggled under his breath. It really was going to be interesting. If he had given up the kill, he would definitely have regretted it in the days to come.

"We can't waste anymore time." Miste said. "We should just knock him out and bring him back."

"So we knock him out? This seems all too easy if he is really one of us, you know." Gared fought to gain his kill. "I say we kill him and tell the higher-ups we couldn't find him. Judging from ability, I'd say this probably isn't him, anyway."

"Our orders are absolute. We take him back to them. If he resists, and only if he does, we kill him." Came the reply.

"Why can't we make him resist, then?" Gared frowned.

His annoyance took control of his hand, placing it on the hilt of the dagger and wrenching it from Miste's hand. Laughing, he threw it aside, watching it land on the floor, the metal ringing like the delight that resounded in his mind.

"We're not supposed to go against orders. Don't screw this up like the last assignme nt." Miste ordered firmly, his voice absolute.

"Come on! A little fun once in awhile won't hurt!" Gared bargained. He was too annoyed by Miste and his inflexibility.

Shoving Miste aside, he stepped forward, kneeled down and, beside the boy's ear, whispered.

"Run, child."

* * *

The shopkeeper stared. Zeirona felt his curious gaze wander upon his eyes, as if trying to peer into his mind. He wondered what the shopkeeper would do. Laugh, thinking it was a practical joke? Maybe. In fact, he wished that would have so conveniently happened.

"Did you teleport?" He said, cutting straight to the point.

It was already nightfall and the darkness spread as far as the eye could see, past the dying, gaunt field, only slight glow of the moon in the vast darkness. It was a full moon that day. It tried to spread rays of dim light across the ground, but even the darkness had ways of finding itself back into the light. The darkness cast long shadows upon the light, wringing it in delight. Any forms of nature that had occupied the place once before had died in despair, hope and life drained up before the sweet taste of a droplet of water could be felt. The darkness ate the light and the light ate the darkness.

"That was…" Zeirona thought about an excuse, wondering what would please him and satisfy any curiosity that lingered in his mind. "It was a harmless joke. Honestly, a stupid prank."

It was the best he could come up with, and pathetic at that. He was hopeless when it came to lying.

"It was a prank? To waste my time?" A slight tinge of annoyance played at shopkeeper's tone, as if he was about to snap.

"Yes! I- I mean no! Not a prank. I was just running too fast!" Zeirona had just gunned out another hopeless lie.

"Fine, if you don't want to admit that… Shall we at least settle it?" He lifted his sword off the ground, sending dust flying off into the air. At least he had dropped the topic on his own. It saved him much trouble.

"Battle you…?" Zeirona stopped as he saw the serious look on his face. It would be him that would be ridiculed if he had decided to give up on the fight when he was the one who started it, after all. He sighed and quickly lifted his sword up.

On impulse, he immediately ran forward, playing on offence before his opponent could. He jumped, bringing his sword downwards. The shopkeeper skillfully halted it with his sword on one hand, throwing a punch with the other. It connected, but seconds after Zeirona flew back, he flew back, landing back on the floor and stumbling back to regain his footing. He lifted his sword, preparing to slash him again. It was at that moment that he felt it. It twisted and crunched, an unseen force dragging him down to his knees. He clutched his stomach in pain, digging his nails into his skin. He had only escaped the pain from the punch for a few seconds. The shopkeeper drove his sword forward, stopping its tip right at his chest. He could already feel the sharp tip poking his chest slightly, ripping slightly through the thin fabric of his shirt.

"You will never become a warrior." He fixed his eyes upon his for a slight second, then withdrew his sword.

Zeirona winced, ignoring the fatal pain stabbing at him as got up to his feet, struggling to keep himself from falling back down. He winced, trying to keep the pain from stopping him. The shopkeeper stood silently at his spot, like he was waiting for Zeirona to come straight at him. Surely he was trying to taunt him. He swung his blade out at him without thinking, his hands stiff and heavy. The shopkeeper dodged easily, grabbing his hand and twisting it.

Zeirona fell back to his knees once more, panting furiously. He could feel his clothes sticking onto his back as he rested with his injured arm on one knees. His other arm hung loosely at his side, fist balled up with pain.

"How did you…" He began, gritting his teeth to control the pain.

"People call themselves swordsmen just because they can swing their swords around. They know nothing about swordsmanship." He said, picking up the sword he had used. "Swordsmanship is a sacred art. Don't think you can get anywhere near better than me until you understand that simple fact." He growled, his hoarse voice ringing through his head, through the pain.

Zeirona had been defeated the moment he began. He had been rendered completely useless. He did not even manage land a single hit. Not a scratch at all. How useless he felt at that moment.

"Teach me, then…" He cried out, the pain still clawing at him. If he could learn from anyone, it would be him. "How to be a real swordsman!"

* * *

"Don't you want to run?"

Nera stayed rooted to his place, fear written all over his face. He couldn't risk his life by trying to run away. It would be safer if he did not resist, anyway. He trembled, trying to think of something to do. He would last not a second if he were to engage them in a fight.

But then, he knew that he would have a chance if he ran. Leah was probably already searching for him, and if he could just reach the start of the forest, maybe she could help him. By doing that, he would be implicating her, putting her in danger. She was only a cleric and her skills were far from powerful.

"I'll even give you a head start! Ten seconds!" His captor laughed.

Nera took off. Taking the enemy's advice and running, knowing it would cost him his life. At least this way, he stood a chance. No matter how small. His chest was about to explode, his heart ramming frantically against it. The grass crunched under his feet. His eyes darted wildly, searching for a small ray of hope anywhere. Anything that could redeem his life.

It was then that he noticed. A person, shouting, that voice. The words became clearer. "Nera!" He squinted in the dim light, the shade of the trees worsening his disabled vision. Somehow, he managed to spot her. She was looking for him. He dashed forward, pace quickening. Kicking forward with all his might, he ran, too close to his goal.

Then the hand reached from behind him and grabbed.

"Too slow, I'm afraid." The thief leaned forward, grabbing his waist and carrying him. "Stop resisting. I won't kill you."

He turned, noticing someone standing not far off.

"Holy Arrow!"

Leah's wand lit up in a glaring light, then, with its form shifting and twisting to her own will, transformed into a bow, shrouded in light. Tendrils of light emerged from it coiled around it, flashing and shimmering, temporarily blinding everyone around her with its magnificence. Small streams of light danced along the shape of her palm, spiraling in circles trying to wrap around one another, forming the shape of an arrow. She carefully placed the arrow along the thin string of light on the bow and pulled as far back as she could. It was now or never to seize the opportunity. She released the delicate fingers that were preventing the mass of energy from exploding and bursting forward.

The arrow left a trail of light chasing after it as it flew through the air. It cut through the air, carving a thin line across. The thief burst forward, gliding along the air, his bent frame seemingly parallel to the ground. Gliding forward, his form crackled and faded once more, leaving an afterimage chasing after him. He ran beside the arrow, matching its speed with ease. He stretched his arm out and smacked the arrow aside, sending it spinning madly into a tree.

Leah stared in awe. If the thief had touched the tip, the point of focus and concentrated energy, his hand would have probably been sliced off like paper. Even by touching the body of the arrow, he should have been burned. However, it was no time to be amazed; the thief had covered up half the distance during that brief moment.

The thief placed his fingers on his dagger, bringing it straight up. She tensed up and hastily formed more arrows of light. Consecutive arrows shot forward in a desperate attempt to create a defense for Leah. Running behind her arrows, she shot more, running from left to right. Struggling to keep up, her body began to lose its strength, threatening to fail her.

He sliced the arrows with more sharp movements, carefully avoiding their tips, as they left the blade glowing red. The speed had prevented the dagger from accumulating too much heat, prolonging the life of the metal.

Nera watched the thief with wide eyes. The thief had easily sliced over ten arrows in mere seconds. When he turned to watch Leah, he saw that her face had lost all its color. She staggered while trying to walk away, but then fell on the ground. What was going on?

"Leah!" He yelled.

The thief stopped in his tracks when he saw Leah lying on the ground. After taking a quick check to see it was not a pathetic bluff, he slowly approached her. Nera could feel the blade as it drew nearer, its killing intent suddenly striking fear deep in his heart. He wondered how many lives it had taken in cold blood. He knew that if he had tried to make a sprint away, it would all be over. The thief relaxed up his muscles, letting the dagger guide him to his target. Only to be gripped on the hilt by a stiff hand. The pirate stepped in front of him, aimed his gun at Leah again.

"My prey, remember?" He said, turning back to Leah. "As I was saying, this is what happens when you try to-"

An arrow had already buried itself into his chest, and it was easily finding its way deeper into it. Instinctively, the pirate grabbed the arrow with the remnants of his strength and stopped it from moving any further. He had succeeded, but before he passed out, he noticed the thin burn marks sizzling on his hands. Nera flinched, the yelling getting to his head. He could sense the pain.

"I can't even take a peaceful, quiet walk out of the town without being interrupted by all this ruckus." From behind the tall, looming trees that lay ahead of the park, yet another person emerged. "What's going on here?"

"Y-you!" Nera yelled in shock. He recognized the man garbed in the dark, green cloak and the long, raven hair that came flowing out of his hood. He stumbled backward, only to find himself being confronted with a dagger on the neck once more. His heart stopped for a second. "You could have showed up earlier, you know!"

"I was waiting behind the trees to get a good aim."

"Be gone, or I'll cut him." The thief's voice was firm and unshaken.

"I could shoot an arrow faster than you could react. Put the dagger down now." He continued, his hands slowly moving to his back.

"Leave now. I could dodge your pathetic arrow easily."

"I just hate stubborn people." He reached for an arrow in his quiver and placed it on the thin string of his bow. "Are you sure?"

"I'm really going to cut him. Stop this, now or-" Before the thief could continue, a glimmering object had already found its way to the spot where he stood and was flying towards him.

How had he managed to shoot the arrow at such an incredible speed? Nera did not even see it flying towards the thief.

The thief flung his dagger up desperately to stop the object in its tracks. His shock had weakened his defense and the dagger had only managed to cut through the tip of the object. It exploded upon impact. He was flung back, slamming against a nearby tree, then dropping to the floor, losing consciousness.

"Arrow bomb."

Nera let out a sigh of relief. He had thought he was going to die, but it all ended well in the end, right? He turned to stare at the pirate, who was already on the floor, blood flowing out of his chest.

"Don't worry, none of them are in real danger. I didn't hit any vital spots and I refrained from using more than a quarter of my power. That's only enough power to make someone pass out, not deal any serious injury… hopefully. The thief probably won't even feel the wounds after he wakes up. It will take a while for the pirate to rid himself of the scar, though. The arrow will also take away a considerable amount of his mana." The archer turned around and folded his arms. "Now, who are these people? Was I wrong to attack them?"

"I… have no idea. They attacked me out of the blue. However, they mentioned something about bringing me to "them". They had orders from someone." Nera pointed out.

"You have no idea who they are? Then, all you can do is to question them when they wake up. I need to take my leave now, if you don't mind."

"Hey, wait! Firstly, how am I supposed to question them? They're unconscious and need medical treatment! Even the cleric is out cold!" He pointed at Leah, who was lying on the ground, her face pale as white.

He looked at the bodies scattered around the park for split second. "Why don't you bring them home then?"

"I wouldn't be able to lift them up, let alone carry them back! Besides, they might harm me when they wake up! This has to be the dumbest idea I've heard in a long time. H-hey! Wait, don't leave!"

"Fine, I'll help you carry them, but just to your house. I don't have much time." He lifted Leah and slung her over one shoulder, then the thief on the other.

Nera stared at him with his eyes wide open. The man had easily lifted them up, without even showing any signs of strain. Nera tried to carry the pirate, but he wouldn't do as much as budge.

"Do you _have _to be so heavy?" He moaned. He grabbed the pirate's arm and put it on his shoulder, struggling to drag his body along the floor. After a short while, he gave up on the body and let it collapse to the floor again.

"You might _really_ kill him, you know?" The archer said, sighing as he began to lift the third body up.

* * *

"Can we rest now? I can't drag him any longer!" Nera was panting as he let himself fall to his knees on the grass. He wiped his forehead before brushing his hands through his soaked hair. It was only after he had started to relax slightly more than he had realized how quiet the forest was. All he could hear was the faint melody of a choir of birds singing and the humming of flying insects, the sound of their paper wings knocking the air back, the sound magnified through the moist, damp forest. He tried to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the surroundings, focusing, only to be interrupted.

"Be quick. We're almost there, so why not just rest when we've arrived? I've been carrying three people and so far, you've not done anything at all, so stop complaining." The archer stated, his monotonous voice starting to get on Nera's nerves.

"What's with you? Just relax for a second, would you? It's not like you have anything better to do, right? You don't have to get so uptight about every single thing." He complained.

"Let's just get moving." Without waiting for his response, he took off.

"Gosh."

They traveled along a deserted route behind the giant cluster of trees in Ellinia so nobody would notice them. The house was already waiting for them, as it stood alone on the one giant branch that held firmly, showing no signs of wear and promising to last in the many years to come.

Nera fumbled in his pocket, looking for the spare keys to the house. Leah had been as kind as to let them reside there for the short period of time they were training, something he thought nobody else would probably do. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, before lighting the house up.

As the archer placed the bodies down carefully while placing Leah -who was the only clean person- on a bed, Nera went into the small kitchen to grab a snack. He gobbled it up and turned, only to find the archer leaving out the front door.

"Hey! At least let me send you off. You've helped me more than once, it would be the least I could do." He ran out the house, easily catching up with the archer's lazy pace. "So… at least tell me your name?"

"Kryen."

Nera laughed, wondering why a name would be so hard to say.

"You know, it would be basic courtesy to reply with your name when someone gives you his." He bluntly interrupted Nera's laughter.

"Right. I'm Nera." He replied.

"You know," Nera said, suddenly going off topic. "Those three might wake up at any moment. One of them might still harm me, so couldn't you just spare a few more minutes or so?"

"I'm not obliged to help you, am I? I do as I wish. My advice is to wake the cleric up first, so she can heal herself and the other two. It would speed things up. I'm sure both of you have the ability to protect yourself. If anything goes wrong, simply flee. I'm actually headed to Kerning now. If need be, you may find me there." He turned and walked off again, leaving Nera standing alone once more.

He watched the archer leave. Suddenly, he froze in his spot as he heard someone groaning. It surprised him for a second. He entered the house, looking around for anything strange. He knew he had brought back three people. There was one body lying on the floor, while Leah was placed on a bed. He looked around, searching for the third body, only to find a trail of blood leading out the back door.

"Oh god." He mumbled. He decided that whoever escaped would probably be too tired to fight, but he wondered if he had memorized the route back. That would have meant that he could easily find his way back. He ran to the back door, opening it to find the trail of blood leading off the thick branch that held the house. It either meant that he had jumped off and plunged to his death, or he grew wings and flew away. Neither seemed logical.

Nera found himself sighing once more as he went back in the house to retrieve a health potion from the kitchen. He opened Leah's mouth and cautiously poured the red liquid into her mouth. Surprisingly, it did nothing to help her. Her face was even paler than it was before. He let her swallow another health potion, but after seeing how _useful _it really was, he stopped.

He remembered the fact that she did not even get so much as a scratch on herself during the battle. She only fainted after casting her spells. He went back to the kitchen, this time bringing some mana potions for her, pouring them into her mouth, praying that hopefully, it would work. It took about four potions, but miraculously, she finally awoke from her sleep.

"Where… what happened? N… Nera, are you hurt?" She tried to speak, but it came out closer to a whisper.

"Yeah… I didn't fight at all, so I was safe." He said, bringing more mana potions to her side. "Hey, strangely enough, health potions didn't work on you. Only mana potions."

She looked at the potions for a second, trying to move her hands. "The potion, if you might."

"Oh. Sorry about that." He hastily prepared more potions for her.

Before long, her face regained its original color, and she felt much better, to the point of being able to speak normally. Nera wondered why mana potions would work while health ones did not, but decided it was something uncalled for. As long as Leah was fine, he was pretty content. Just then, he heard someone yawn.

"Uh… I forgot to mention, but there's someone else here." Nera suddenly announced. "The thief you fought. He's here…"

"What? What the hell were you thinking, bringing him here!" She yelled. Well, at least if she could yell, she was perfectly fine.

"We have to question him… to find out why they attacked me…" Nera mumbled, feeling very stupid at that moment.

"So, you want me to heal him so we can question him? What if he jumps up and slaughters the-" She turned to see the thief awakening. "Oh god… what's say we make a dash for it now and hope that he thinks he just had a bad dream?"

"I'm all out for that idea." He replied, his eyes still on the thief.

"Hey, may I know where I am?" The thief suddenly spoke, blinking a few times to adjust to the light, stretching his hands and yawning again. There were two things Nera got shocked by. Firstly, he did not leap out of bed and begin a massacre. Secondly, it wasn't a 'him' voice, it was a 'her'.

She placed her hand on her head, only just noticing the cloth wrapped around her head. She slowly tore it off. It was definitely a female's face, alright. Nera stared, unable to take his eyes off her for a second. Leah was probably staring too.

"What's with the mask? Hey, why am I dressed up like this?" She looked at the clothes she had been wearing. The full body black suit was definitely odd. She noticed the two standing by the corner, unable to speak at all. "Hey! Are you guys listening here? Hello?"

She waved at Nera, trying to catch his attention. Of course, he was too stunned to react. Was she going through a major personality change, or was he simply imagining it? Sure, it was his imagination. He closed his eyes for two seconds, then opened them, half expecting an assassin to come charging after him. What he saw was the same girl pursing her lips in annoyance.

"You… you're not an assassin?" Nera finally choked out. "Not an insane, bloodthirsty thief trying to take our lives?"

"Alright, firstly, I'm a warrior, not a thief. So far, I haven't tried to assassinate anyone, so yeah. You guys sure are a weird bunch, aren't you?" She laughed.

Nera just stared at here again. She was calling _him_ weird.

* * *

Zeirona had hailed a cab and was already arriving at his destination. He got off the cab and found himself standing at the East exit of Ellinia. He had to make this trip a quick one; the taxi was on standby, waiting for him to return. Just as he was about to take off, he noticed a cloaked person leaning against the gate, his arms folded.

As he left the taxi, the cloaked man walked right past him, heading straight for it. He tapped the taxi's window lightly, peering into the filtered glass.

"Hey, I need to head to Kerning, so-" He began.

"Sorry, but this cab is waiting for me. I have to get back, and I'm in quite a hurry, so I'm sorry." Zeirona apologized.

"No, don't…" He stopped to take a good look at Zeirona's face. It rang a bell, he just knew it. He struggled to think about it, but to no avail. He could not figure out just who he might have been. "… worry, I'll just look for another."

"Thanks for understanding." Zeirona waved and dashed off. He thought he saw the man trying to stop him, but he just dismissed it as his imagination. He followed the main branch that led to Leah's house which was in the middle of the large tree, but after reaching half the distance, he turned into the forest and cut through it. It was a shortcut he had discovered during his training and not many monsters would appear there, so he was relatively safe… not that he could not handle the monsters or anything.

He quickly found himself at Leah's house after less than a few minutes. He knocked the door, but it swung right open. Nobody had locked the door. He stepped in, only to find himself staring at three people. When there should have been two. There was another girl sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Who's that?" Zeirona stared.

"You're surprised too? She suddenly had a…" Nera's voice trailed off as he realized that Zeirona had not been present during the attempted kidnapping. Why would he be shocked, then? She could just have been another visitor. Then, as he looked at him close enough, he started to understand.

* * *

**Note: I took way too long again. Thanks to Zethos for reading the draft. I really have nothing else to say, except that I hope I've improved. **


	4. Forest of Souls

The dim lights that lit the pavement flickered, dying out. The sun was already beginning to rise. Even a glimpse of the arched tip sent a small wave of radiance crashing against the cluster of buildings, the shadows sent flying back and stretching far. The city was about to be revived.

It started with a person, slowly walking under the shades of the looming buildings that circled the streets. His hands slowly moved up to his head, pulling down the hood that hid his face. It was suffocating him. He doubted anyone would be up so early in the morning.

The streets… it brought back memories. Pleasant memories, bitter ones. Flashes of guns and swords, blood spraying, death. There was also the glory. The glory that came after sacrifice on both sides. Countless died and only a few rose above them. He was one of those successful people… or had been.

Tossed aside by comrades for the sake of progression. He had nobody to blame but himself, though. It was he who had gotten himself in that much trouble. He had betrayed his comrades, but it was all for a greater good, wasn't it?

"I see you came here to reminisce, ex-major Kryen."

A low voice shook him out of his head.

Turning, he saw a tall man wearing the uniform that he himself had tossed away. Neat, blonde hair stood up with streaks of brown running along them. The bruised, bloodstained uniform that he used to wear. The symbol stood above a small chest pocket: a crest, a small shield with a long blade cutting across diagonally. A long, thin blade hung by his belt, swinging lightly along with him.

"Halter… You're here to arrest me?" Kryen laughed. A short, genuine laugh.

"I don't know… I might be feeling a little lenient today. That's colonel Halter now, by the way." He tapped his shoulder. A single star, proudly lying on his shoulders.

"Colonel Halter now, hmm? How long did it take you to get up there? It must have been easier, seeing as your competition was annihilated." He stared at the star… it burned his eyes. The star he had longed to have for such a long time. It had been an arm's reach away from him back then. He had thrown it away all too easily. A tinge of bitterness clouded his vision.

"Significantly. I really have to thank you and Erith, actually. On account of the great friendship we three had for so many years… it's more than enough reason for me to let you go." He scratched the back of his head. An old habit of his.

"You were the last of the three to join, yet the youngest. So, now they put you in charge of the Kerning department? Isn't that a little too small for a colonel?"

"Well, I'm in charge of Kerning, Henesys _and_ Ellinia." He grinned.

"The three places that I'm most likely to appear in, huh? Mind you, I do search the other villages too. But, if you're so hell-bent on getting me behind bars, why are you letting me go now, when you can easily seize me?"

"Don't get me wrong. It's a mere coincidence that I was put in charge of those three. Besides, even I know my limits. You always were the strongest of the three of us. You could just pull out your bow and finish me off before I even draw out my sword."

"You're letting something like that get in the way of seizing a criminal? What happened to your sense of justice?"

"Nothing much, really. I just don't see the need to get myself scarred unless necessary. But you should know that I've been training very hard these last few years."

"So have I."

They both stared at each other, then Halter laughed softly.

"Well, I look forward to the day we're forced to fight against each other. I couldn't do it the last time, but I've hardened now." He turned and left, leaving Kryen standing alone once more.

"I can't believe a colonel let me get away… He should really take that role seriously and stop lazing off." He muttered under his breath.

He slowly pulled the hood over his head once more. He wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflicts, which was why he had no choice but to suffocate himself with it. He slowly began to walk through the streets again.

Where had he left off? Oh yes, the revival of the city.

So, it started with a single person, slowly walking under the shades of the looming buildings that circled the streets. Slowly, it increased to two people, then ten, then twenty. It wasn't long than before the streets became congested, bustled and people started to flood in. He squeezed through the crowds that stampeded through the narrow alleys, barely finding tiny gaps to stick his head into.

He had to find a decent viewpoint to being his daily search.

* * *

"Zeirona! Zeirona! Snap out of it!" Nera yelled.

He shook Zeirona's shoulders. He blinked and looked at Nera.

"Yeah? Uh, sorry." He said, in a daze. "Who is that?"

"She… How do I say this? She tried to assassinate us all…"

"Cool."

"What!"

"Oh, I mean… how horrible." He mumbled.

"What has gotten into you? Has your common sense been knocked out?" Nera nearly yelled.

"Yes… I mean no. No, it hasn't."

Nera turned to look at the girl once more. She was still garbed in her plain, black suit. Her eyes, they seemed to have regained some part of emotion, whereas when she had been fighting, her eyes were dull gray, devoid of life.

"… happened. Are you guys even listening?" She continued.

"Yes, I've been listening to every word you said." Zeirona muttered. To Nera, he seemed hypnotized.

"Wake up, you idiot!" He slapped Zeirona's back with all his strength.

"Ouch! Hey, I'm alright now. What, what is it?" He was back.

"She tried to kill me and Leah. We would have died if Kryen hadn't helped us!"

"Kryen?" He asked, his head still half-tilted in the direction of the girl.

"Oh, an archer who helped me along the way. He just left."

"Just left… was he headed in the direction of Kerning?"

"Yes, why?"

"I just saw him! He was in a cloak that looked really out of place."

"Yeah, that's him! You met him?"

"We just exchanged a line or two, that's all." He suddenly moved forward, approaching the girl leaning against the wall.

"H-hey! Zeirona!" Nera called, but he didn't even turn back.

"Hey… what's your name?" Zeirona asked the girl.

"I believe I said that a dozen times already. Altis." She said.

"I'm Zeirona. So… where are you from?"

"I have no idea. The last thing I remember was… Perion… where I was watching myself… moving, and I couldn't…" She trailed off, looking as if she was trying hard to remember. Suddenly, she clutched her forehead, gritting her teeth in pain. "Ouch… I'm having a really bad headache. I can't remember… sorry."

"It's alright. Don't force yourself." He sighed as he backed off.

He turned, looking around for Leah. He found her lying by her bed.

"What really happened here? I would like to know exactly what took place around here while I was away. It was barely a day, and all this happened?"

"You just had to go away, didn't you?" She proceeded to recount the events of the previous night, or at least, everything she had seen.

"So you're telling me that all this happened just when I left the place? This girl lying by the wall is an assassin who tried to kill you all? An archer came just at the right time to help you? What? There were two people… so what happened to the other?"

"Ask Nera yourself. He pretty much did everything while I was unconscious." She pointed back to Nera.

Zeirona lifted himself off his feet and went straight to Nera.

"Okay, Nera. Where is the second person who came here?" He asked.

"The pirate? He escaped. He left through the back door, off the branch. It's alright, though. He couldn't have flown off the branch, could he? He's probably gone already."

"Flown… pirates, you say? Pirate… a pirate… don't they have this skill…!" His eyes widened as he remembered the tales he had heard during his training. There was one particular one about a pirate. A gunslinger… that was what they had talked about. Gunslingers had a certain skill that enabled them to delay their falls. That meant that…

He ran out the back door, leaving Nera call him again, his cries seemingly soft before the worries he was carrying. His eyes scurried around frantically in search of something that could give him more information. Anything… the trail of blood was nearly dried; it led off the branch…

He took a peek down. It was a long way down, but that was not what he was paying attention to. There was more. Blood stains on the branches below. He must have used the life energy he had left in replacement of mana to carry himself lower.

Mana was the energy that was created by the life force of a person. Therefore, the life energy itself would be an extra, more powerful source of mana… but using too much had dire consequences. It could have shortened his life span. Or even worse, killed him.

He ran left, finding the bridges that connected the single braches and leaves. Proceeding downwards, he ran further, reaching the bottom. Roots from the tree spread far, crawling beneath the ground and curling around the forest. They were huge, and there were small houses built on them, nestled atop the odd circles that appeared along them.

Looking around, he traced the bloodstains along the branches back to an area in the forest, somewhere deserted. He could only hear leaves rustling and dew dripping. He could also hear a slight panting amongst the tiny noises that composed the forest. Panting…

Turning, he walked slowly and cautiously, being careful not to make excessive noise. The coughing and groaning was becoming more evident as well, the more he headed south. _Crunch._ He had stepped on a pile of dried leaves, and the noise that would have been soft was amplified through the sleepy forest.

He looked around, hoping nobody had heard it. Turning he looked around for more signs of life anywhere.

That was when he found two bullets whistling past his face.

He stumbled backwards, his heart jumping straight into frenzy. He ran, turning to hide behind a tree. He did not know where the pirate was, but the bullets had come from his left. He wiped his face with his sweaty palms, noticing blood spreading along his fingers. He moved his hand over to his cheek, then winced in pain as he dropped his hands. It was only a minor cut from the bullets, but it stung.

It had only grazed him, but it seemed so pain. It must have been mana propelled bullets. Bullets shot forth with more energy and power using mana. Was he really trying to kill himself? He heard footsteps; frantic feet kicking the ground.

He looked around, then dashed further left, finding cover before a giant root that had penetrated the forest, splitting it into two parts. There was a small hole in between the root, made by the villagers to open a path. He could feel a large energy around, but he could not tell where it was coming from. It seemed to be all over the forest, like it was alive, breathing. There was something, and it felt dark.

Crouching down, he crept over the path, jumping up and sprinting once he reached there. A loud bang exploded in his ears, leaving him dropping to his knees with his hands over his ears just as another bullet shot past him. He shook his head and ran forward, looking for more cover. It was a bad move. There were no more roots or stems in that area, only a single large trunk standing right in the center. That must have been where he was.

He brought his wand back out, holding it in front in case someone tried to attack him with a surprise shot. If he was fast enough, he might be able to catch him. He stopped, listening for a reloading of a gun or the sound of the trigger clicking in place.

He heard it. The sound of bullets being put in place. He turned, preparing for a shot.

He stumbled back, finding a small hole in his right shoulder. He grabbed it, his shoulder already feeling numb from the gunpowder. It was too fast… too fast for him to have even seen it. Blood flowed down his shoulder. That must have taken up a lot of mana… how could he have gathered up so much mana? He fell to his back, his mouth still gaping wide open.

He saw a man walk out of the tree, having difficulty walking forward, but moving steadily. He pointed a gun right at his face, slowly revealing a second gun from his back.

"Where are you getting this energy! You should be half dead by now if you were using your life energy!" He asked, fighting back the pain. He had already gotten crucially injured once just a few hours back.

"I'm pointing a gun at you and you use such a defiant tone?" The pirate laughed, nearly choking. "I like that. Don't you feel it? Don't you feel the energy pulsing through this forest?"

"What are you…" He turned his head slightly, looking around. He felt it again. The breathing of the forest, the life that flowed through. It felt wrong… it felt misplaced. But it was there.

The pirate chuckled again, ignoring the fact that he was seriously wounded.

"The tainted mana this place is leaking out… it's a giant stream of energy! Drawing that out was too easy. It's providence! It's the gift that god sent me!"

He looked closer, noticing something that disturbed him. His pupils were going white.

"How much… how much did you use…?" He trembled, wondering what had just happened.

"I used everything I could… I put every ounce of that energy into my shots. Couldn't you tell? The dark energy this forest is giving out… I could hear the screams and cries of the dead souls chained to the trees and leaves. I couldn't resist the temptation to use that!" He went crazy, laughing even more.

Dark energy. He could hear them now. Screams and pleas, coming from the trees and plants. There was something wrong with this place. Dark energy was from black magic.

"Can you see? Can you see anything?" He asked, his blood racing around as he began to realize what was around him.

"I don't know! They told me… they told me that was the toll for using too much of that energy! It doesn't matter! I can sense your energy from a mile away with my heightened power!"

He had drawn energy from the forest. He said it was dark energy. Even he could feel the darkness of the forest now. Why hadn't he realized this earlier? It was… the forest was alive with black magic!

He saw him. He knew his body was about to fail him any minute now. He could see blood flowing down his mouth. His eyes were turning full white. His scars seemed to have opened in his chest, blood soaking his clothes.

"You can't feel the pain your body is experiencing?"

"I can't! It's amazing, isn't it? I can't even feel any pain! My body is full of too much energy! I can't feel anything! This is everything I could dream of!"

Even an idiot could tell it was over for him. His body would hold out for a few minutes at most, then he would probably die. He had to make use of the time left to find out more.

"Why did you come here? To kidnap Nera?"

"Not just the boy… you too. We were sent by the doc. Don't you remember us? _DCR-5 _and _DCR-11_. The rest didn't survive. We were the only four who were successful experiments." He said, his panting getting faster.

He remembered the words he muttered out before he passed out that day. He promised he would rescue them. Yet, they were both turned into this…

"The other partner… was there anything wrong with her?" He asked, suddenly remembering that Leah said she had become someone else.

"Her? You must be talking about Miste. He's insane, I tell you. I once heard him talking to himself. He's mad. He's crazy. It's like there are two people living in him." The pirate was still laughing. It was as if he was drunk… drunk on power. "He's professional at killing others, but when it comes to himself, he doesn't even remember who he is, or what he wants, or even which person he is. There are times when he becomes gentle all of a sudden… his voice begins to change. I don't know what's going on with him, to be honest. You should get rid of him too. Along with those bloodstained clothes and that mask." He paused, gulping in a breath of air, before choking and laughing again.

He knew he saw a girl. Of course, if he had been under a mask, he might not have known. He said she was mad? Crazy? He did not know anymore. The first person he liked in such a long time turned out to be…

"I'm sorry, but even you can't be saved anymore."

Clutching his shoulder, he slowly got up.

"Where are you going? I can shoot you!" He yelled, frantically trying to get an aim of him.

"Aim well."

"Damn you!" The pirate screamed. He placed a hand on the ground and Zeirona saw smoke rising. His skin got darker, his face starting crumpling up and more blood started flowing out.

"Stop!" Zeirona shut his eyes as he heard a sick scream followed by the sound of something dry crunching up. He turned and ran out of the forest. He wanted nothing more to do with this place.

* * *

Zeirona arrived back at the house not long after. He remembered the legends about Grendel toying with dark magic. He never knew that it was true and that the result was something this horrible. People he knew drew mana from the forest to help with their daily chores without even knowing what kind of mana they were using.

He entered the house, his hand still on his shoulder. Leah rushed over to him, gulping down a mana potion while healing him.

"There. That should stop the bleeding. It's almost fully healed, so as long as you don't strain yourself too much, it should be fine. Now, what happened?"

"Please, give me a second."

He headed straight to the girl.

"Do you know who you are? Answer me this. Where are you from? What did they do to you? Try and remember." He grabbed her shoulders.

"I… I… can't remember…"

"Try harder! I can still help you if you try and remember!" He pressed on.

She shut her eyes, trying to remember. Nothing. Flashes of scenes and places, but nothing she could recognize.

"Nothing! I can't!"

"Try!"

"A place…"

Lights flashed. Tools, medical equipment… she could see them all. People leaning over, holding tools, ready to do something. She tried to block those things out, but they were still there, lingering in her head. She screamed, a loud scream that caused everyone to grab their ears in pain.

"I…It's alright. Forget it. I'm sorry." He hugged her, hoping it would stop the scream.

"What were you thinking?" Leah ran over to him, just noticing him hugging her tightly.

"I was trying to get information. This girl and the other person… they were sent here to take me and Nera back. Back to the lab."

"Lab? What?"

"T…there's a lot I haven't told you, Leah. Please try and hear me out. I hope you can keep this completely secret."

He sighed as he told her everything. Everything that had happened, everything that was going on so far.

"I don't believe you were hiding something this big from me… you didn't trust me with this information?"

"Listen, I didn't know you at all back then. Even now, doesn't it seem plain ridiculous that someone was willing to let two complete strangers live with her for two whole months while volunteering to train one of them without asking any questions? I'd have to be an idiot if I completely trusted you at first!"

"What about now, then? Do you trust me now? Or was the need to tell me made under forced circumstances. For your convenience, maybe?"

"It's not like that…"

"Enough. Just go." She pointed out to the front door. "If it's hard to believe that it wasn't genuine kindness, then why don't you stay paranoid and go somewhere else? As badly as I want you to stay, you can't even accept that I was being kind enough to let you stay here! I swear none of information will leak out anywhere, so just leave!"

"What about the girl? She might become dangerous."

"She seems fine to me! I'll take care of her and inform you if anything happens, okay?" She snapped.

He knew he had just touched a nerve and arguing about it would only worsen the situation. He should have kept everything to himself.

"Alright then… I'll leave. But… just so you know. I was already starting to trust you more. You could have just given me a little more time." He sighed, heading over to Nera.

"Listen, Nera. We're leaving this house. It's up to you if you decide to follow me or walk your own path. It would be good if you started finding someone to train you. I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be."

"Why? What happened? I could hear you guys arguing from over here."

"It's best you not know."

"I think… I'll find someone to help me by myself. When I'm strong enough, I'm sure we'll meet again, brother."

"B…Brother?" He mumbled as he watched Nera leave. So he regarded him as a big brother. How nice.

He had no items or clothes to bring along, so all he had to do was head back to the taxi. Oh… how long had the taxi been waiting for him?

"Wait… I didn't mean that. Don't go." He suddenly heard Leah say.

"No, I was the one in the wrong. Sorry and goodbye, I guess. I'll visit you again sometime in the future."

He dashed out, running straight for the taxi. He silently said goodbye to Leah and the house, the last two months of his new life.

* * *

Kryen soon found himself back at his usual spot. The huge cranes that were once part of a large construction project that had failed had become the foundations of new buildings. Brick by brick, they turned the giant cranes into foundations for flats, shop houses and stores. The only remaining parts of the original cranes became tourist attractions, although people rarely visited them anymore. His left eye was trained to be extremely sharp, and he had been nicknamed 'Eagle Eye' in the force he used to work in.

He pulled himself up on the top of the cranes and sat down, looking downwards to pay an eye on the people below. He remembered Erith's pleas at his deathbed. He begged him to look after his newborn son. He was afraid that people would come after his family for all the criminals he had apprehended. After all, he was a well known officer.

Kryen could not help but agree, seeing as Erith was one of his best friends. That brought him even further back, to the first day they had met. He was always being teased or his female-like name back then. They were made partners. They caught many well known criminals together, ones that many others had failed to do.

Then, that fateful night came. They were trying to catch a well known criminal. A warrior, who had slaughtered many to perfect the black magic. The bitter smell of blood was all over the air. They had cornered him. Kryen had dealt him some severe blows, rendering him immobile. Erith had handcuffed him and brought him out, but in a last, desperate act, he blew himself up by generating dark energy. A sadistic bastard he was. He had lost his best partner. He had also been injured that night.

He was pretty far away from him, but the explosion was huge. As a result, he had lost his right eye. He flipped the long strands of hair that covered his right eye to the side and pressed his hand to his face. He could no longer see, which was why he had to rely so much on that left eye. He had almost expected his vision to come back when he moved his hair, but it didn't. His hair hid the bad memories that scarred his face so badly then.

He visited his wife and his new child. He spent many of his free days with them, keeping his promise to Erith that he would help them. Of course, nothing could have stayed peaceful. It was after another eleven years that it happened. Erith's beloved son went missing. Did he run off, or was he kidnapped? Nobody knew what. But it was most likely that one of Erith's enemies had come to get revenge.

He searched everywhere, but it was futile. Not one trace of the fact that he had existed. His room was completely empty. His things, gone. It was as if he had never been born. From that day on, whenever he was free, he would search the towns for any signs of him returning. He knew it was stupid and that the chances of him finding him were low, but if he sat around and did nothing, he would only blame himself more.

He probably couldn't even remember his face anymore. No pictures, no records of him… how was he going to find him? He always thought, though, that if he ever came across Zeirona, he would immediately recognize him.

Now that he was no longer in the force, he had much more time, so he spent a few weeks in every town, usually more in the three towns nearest to where Zeirona had disappeared. That was why he had been loitering around Ellinia for such a long time. He knew he couldn't give up, because he knew exactly how Zeirona's mother felt. He, too, had lost someone close to him in the exact same manner.

"Mister Kryen!" He turned, frowning at 'mister'. He noticed the same little boy he had helped not long ago running towards him.

"You! What are you doing here? How did you find me? Oh, and please do not use mister. It makes me sound old."

"Sorry mi… Kryen. You were wearing that same cloak and I noticed it from way down there. So… can you take me as your apprentice? Please?"

"Apprentice?" He yelled. "Listen. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into by associating yourself with me."

"Why?"

"It's just dangerous, okay? Besides, I have important things to do."

"Like?"

"Like… wandering around the town for two weeks."

"Why is that important?"

"It will take up a lot of time for me to explain that."

"Just explain it, please."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm lazy!"

"Why are you lazy?"

"Alright! Enough! I'll take you in! Alright? Happy? Just be prepared for hell!" He frowned again, his forehead wrinkling in dismay.

He sighed as he thought about it. He would have said yes in the end anyway. How could he say no to a young, childish bowman? It would be like he was rejecting his own brother. He always had a soft spot for people who were like that.

"Yeah! Thanks a lot! Can we start now?"

"No! I'm looking for someone and I can't stop now. I can spare two days a week at most."

"Two days?" He whined. "Come on, make that longer!"

"Three."

"Four."

"Two."

"Okay, three! Can we spread that out? Like, a few hours a day?"

"Four hours a day, alright? Bright and early at six in the morning sharp. If you're late by any more than fifteen minutes, the lesson is off. Find your own accommodation."

"I have no money, no clothes or anything!"

"You should have thought of that before you looked for me."

"But…" Nera stopped as he saw a small pouch flying towards him. He jumped and clapped his hands together, barely catching it.

"Fine… That's enough to stay at a cheap hotel. They'll probably charge you around a hundred mesos a day. The remaining money can get you a cheap sandwich for every meal, which will cost about 5 to 6 mesos. If you train with me for a month, that's easily enough money for you to survive."

Nera opened the pouch and counted the money slowly. Four thousand mesos! That must have been one tough monster he had slayed.

"Thanks a lot, teacher!" He smiled and ran off with the pouch in hands, carried like a precious newborn.

"God… How could I have turned down someone that resembles the young Gared so much…?" He found himself mumbling.

* * *

"Kill her. Finish her off, quickly." A voice boomed.

"No… I… I don't want to."

"Do it!"

A slap. It burned her cheek.

"No!"

A hand on her wrist. It shoved her forward, thrusting her with the knife in her hand.

Blood sprayed on her face. She looked at the corpse with her eyes stunned open. The shocked, wide open eyes of a six year-old.

Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she felt a jolt on her shoulder. Flames ignited on the corpse, the flame spreading. An explosion around her… it was everywhere. More tears were coming down. The place grew brighter, brighter, the flames growing more. Everything was slowly becoming white.

Anxiety filled her. She had just killed someone!

It built up, growing, growing. It became a giant, black monster that started to build in her. She felt as if she was going to explode. Around her, everything just got whiter, brighter. Inside, everything became darker, black.

The light filled the whole place, everything becoming pure white. She felt something black inside her, struggling to break free. Growing more, more… it exploded within her.

She screamed. She rubbed her temples as she found herself lying on a bed. Looking around, everything seemed so surreal. It was as if everything was blurred, grainy. A fog was right in front of her, and it clouded her vision. Where was she? The place was so alien, bizarre. Everything seemed to be distorted. Black and grey.

She got up, two words flashing in her head repeatedly. It was the voice of someone else, someone in her head. She could see her. Then, she remembered. It was her… the one who was always stuck in her head.

Kill her. Kill her.

She moved forward, tripping over something on the floor. She fell, the room spinning from her vision. She could see a person approaching.

She got up, slowly, looking around for something. A kitchen. She stumbled over to see what seemed like a kitchen. The scenery was spinning, but it was definitely a kitchen. Why did it feel like she had experienced this before?

Her view moved back and forth, the only clear thing being the kitchen. She ran, barely keeping her balance. Her hand ran carelessly across the kitchen table, knocking over leftover dishes and utensils. They hit the floor, the noise ringing in her ears. She covered her ears, the sound getting louder. Leaning forward, she grabbed objects at random, looking to recognize a knife.

She had found one. The blade seemed big. It was distorted in her view, its length and size proportion warping. She held the grey metal in her hands, her surroundings beginning to shake again. She shook her head, turning back towards the room. There was already someone there; searching through the bed she had just been on.

She turned, looking at the person. She was now headed for the kitchen. Everything blurred, and she could only see a girl. A girl walking towards her. She clutched the knife tightly, moving towards the girl slowly. Why couldn't she stop? Panic grew, grabbing her tightly. She was moving, but it wasn't her. Moving slowly, but she could not even stop her.

She was useless. Fear grew, along with the rushing adrenaline. It gushed through her, her heart thumping wildly. It felt as if it was about to explode. So much discomfort. She felt so uncomfortable. She needed to scream, but the mouth she had wasn't hers. She was trapped, a bird in a cage.

Her vision began to flash. It flashed, blacking out for a second then regaining vision for another second. She felt faint. Her breathing got heavier, slower, deeper and unable to catch the rhythm of her pulsing heart. Her hand trembled, the knife shaking wildly along with it. Her legs moved, each step sending a thousand needles through her feet. Her shoulders were still burning, burning. She didn't know why, but she had to fight. Fight… she couldn't run away anymore. She wanted to flee, but something invisible shoved her forward, the knife still in her icy hands.

She could only hear the two words ringing in her head.

Kill her.

**

* * *

**

**Note: Special thanks to all those who had the patience to read crap like this. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Oh, just for clarification… Miste is, indeed, nuts. =P**


End file.
